NO. R-20. House concurrent resolution in memory of the Columbia Space Shuttle astronauts who sacrificed their lives in exploration
of outer space.

(H.C.R.12)

Offered by: Representatives Mazur of
South Burlington, Obuchowski of Rockingham, Partridge of Windham, Perry of
Richford, Allaire of Rutland City, Baker of West Rutland, Bolduc of Barton,
Bostic of St. Johnsbury, Botzow of Pownal, Branagan of Georgia, Carey of
Chester, Chen of Mendon, Clark of St. Johnsbury, Clark of Vergennes, Connell of
Warren, Dakin of Colchester, Deen of Westminster, Donaghy of Poultney, Donovan
of Burlington, Dunsmore of Georgia, Emmons of Springfield, Endres of Milton,
Errecart of Shelburne, Freed of Dorset, Gervais of Enosburg, Grad of Moretown,
Haas of Rutland City, Hall of Newport City, Head of South Burlington, Helm of
Castleton, Houston of Ferrisburgh, Howrigan of Fairfield, Hube of Londonderry,
Hudson of Lyndon, Hummel of Underhill, Hunt of Essex, Jewett of Ripton, Johnson
of South Hero, Keogh of Burlington, Kilmartin of Newport City, Kitzmiller of
Montpelier, Klein of East Montpelier, Koch of Barre Town, Krawczyk (Albert) of
Bennington, Krawczyk (Joseph) of Bennington, Larocque of Barnet, LaVoie of
Swanton, Lippert of Hinesburg, Marek of Newfane, Martin of Springfield, Masland
of Thetford, McAllister of Highgate, Miller of Elmore, Morrissey of Bennington,
O'Donnell of Vernon, Parent of St. Albans City, Peaslee of Guildhall, Robinson
of Richmond, Rusten of Halifax, Schiavone of Shelburne, Severance of
Colchester, Sheltra of Derby, Smith of New Haven, Smith of Morristown,
Sunderland of Rutland Town, Sweaney of Windsor, Towne of Berlin, Trombley of
Grand Isle, Valliere of Barre City, Waite of Pawlet, Webster of Randolph,
Westman of Cambridge, Winters of Swanton, Winters of Williamstown and Wright of
Burlington, and Senator Collins of Franklin County.

Whereas, at the dawn of
the 21st century, flights by men and women of many nationalities sojourning
beyond the confines of the earth’s atmosphere, aboard the United States’ fleet
of winged spaceships, the space shuttles Atlantis, Columbia, Discovery, and
Endeavor, have become so common an event that the riveting attention paid a
generation ago to the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo liftoffs typically no longer
exists, and

Whereas, on Saturday,
February 1, 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia, carrying a crew of seven,
disintegrated 40 miles above the Texas countryside as it was rapidly descending
toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the
world was tragically reminded that journeying into space remains a perilous
voyage, and

Whereas, the Columbia’s
crew, comprising men and women from different nations and diverse backgrounds,
was earthbound after a successful 16‑day scientific mission, and

Whereas, Columbia’s
commander, U.S. Air Force Colonel Rick D. Husband had harbored an ambition to
be an astronaut since boyhood, and he was on his second space flight, having
previously participated in the first docking between a space shuttle and the
international space station, and

Whereas, Dr. Laurel
Salton Clark, a U.S. Navy commander, Navy Seal veteran, and physician, relished
the challenge of being an astronaut and found the perspective from space awe‑inspiring,
and

Whereas, Colonel Ilan
Ramon, the first Israeli to ever fly into space, carried remembrances from Nazi
concentration camps, including a young boy’s pencil drawing of an idealized
earth portrait as seen from the moon and a Jewish Torah scroll, and

Whereas, Dr. Kalpana
Chawla, a native of Karnal, India, emigrated to the United States, earned a
doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado, and, in
1994, was one of 20 persons, from a group of 4,000 applicants, to be admitted
into the astronaut corps, and

Whereas, U.S. Navy
Captain David M. Brown, a flight surgeon and test pilot, entered his astronaut
training class with an unusual resume, having been a circus stilt walker, and

Whereas, U.S. Air Force
Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson was motivated to become an astronaut when he
watched the first moon landing as a nine‑year‑old, and pursued his
dream into space, becoming an inspiration to African‑American youth who
sought to fly far above the clouds, and

Whereas, U.S. Navy
Commander William C. McCool, the shuttle’s pilot, who graduated second in his
class at the U.S. Naval Academy, was making his first trip into space, and as
an avid football fan, carried with him a spirit towel from his home town’s high
school football team, now therefore be it

Resolved by the
Senate and House of Representatives:

That the General Assembly
honors the memory of the space heroes who sacrificed their lives in pursuit of
scientific advancement aboard the shuttle Columbia, and affirms its strong
support, following the announced internal and external examinations of this
tragedy, for continuation of human space flight, and be it further

Resolved: That the
Secretary of State be directed to send eight copies of this resolution to Ron
Dittemore, the shuttle program manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas,
one for distribution to the family of each Columbia astronaut, and one for
permanent retention; one copy to Sean O’Keefe, administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration in Washington. D.C.; one copy to the Air
and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; one copy
each to the Embassies of India and Israel in Washington, D.C.; and one copy to
each member of the Vermont Congressional Delegation.